Racing: Seachange huffs and puffs her way back

You could almost feel the presence before you saw it.

The change-up was instantly recognisable when Seachange walked into the mounting area for her first public appearance for six months at Tuesday's Cambridge barrier trials.

The unbeaten champion 3-year-old filly was out to prove she was on the way back to greatness after a leg injury.

It was only the second career occasion that her head didn't appear at the finishing post first - she was unplaced in her first barrier trial last August - but it showed New Zealand's racing public were in for plenty more thrills.

Seachange was beaten a neck by talented super-fit sprinter Del Toro in heavy ground that didn't suit.

The broad smile worn by Cambridge trainer Ralph Manning even before Seachange returned with rider Andrew Calder practically eliminated the need for questions.

Asked if the effort was what he'd expected, Manning said: "To be honest I didn't know what to expect.

"You have to remember she was confined to a box for 12 weeks."

Seachange had her five-from-five racetrack brilliance halted in January when a small bone chip from a pedal bone in a foot was detected.

That occurred as she counted down to the Oaks at Trentham, a group one victory that would have looked good sitting alongside her $275,000 1000 Guineas at Riccarton.

An infection set in around the problem foot, the upside being that it blew the bone chip to the surface and through the skin, eliminating the need for surgery.

Understandably, Seachange looked very round when paraded on Tuesday, but there was no blubber, it was hard, solid conditioning.

"Because she's so round it's difficult to gauge how fit she is," said Manning.

Although she ran out of aerobic conditioning well before the end of the 1000m trial, Seachange kept trying hard right to the finish against an opponent that looked much more suited to the occasion after some hard racing in recent months.

"She ran out of puff with 300m left, but just kept giving," said Calder. "She'll improve a lot with that because she had a good sweat on the way to the start.

"The other horse was too fit for her and he's a mudder, she's not."

Manning felt the run would tighten his stable star pretty quickly, something he is grateful for.

"It's actually not that far away," he said, referring to the beginning of the spring racing, particularly the three-day Hastings carnival and its $1 million Kelt Capital Stakes.

Manning is aiming for Seachange to resume in the Johar Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa on August 19.

"It's going to be the kick-off point for just about all of them," he said.

Seachange was ridden in all her races by Australian Gavin McKeon, who has been riding in Macau. McKeon will arrive back in time to resume his New Zealand career at Avondale on Wednesday.

Calder said it was his understanding that no decision had been made about a rider for Seachange's upcoming campaign.

Stablemate Magnetism has done extremely well since his fabulous first-up effort at Rotorua 12 days ago and will run in the $75,000 Opunake Cup at Hawera on Saturday fortnight.